'State of the IRC' Briefing Held for Diplomat Program Members

IRC Diplomat Program co-chairs Kati Marton and Henry Grunwald

A briefing on "The State of the IRC" was held on Thursday, February 6 in New York for members of the Diplomat Program, a select group of significant and longtime individual, corporate and foundation donors.

The event was hosted by the Diplomat Program's co-chairs, IRC board members Henry Grunwald and Kati Marton. Both co-chairs came to the United States as refugees, he from Austria after the Nazi takeover and she from Hungary following the 1956 Soviet invasion. Each movingly described their experiences as a refugee and linked them to their strong support and deep involvement with the IRC.

George Rupp gave the audience of approximately 100 a broad overview of the IRC's emergency relief, post-conflict and resettlement programs. John Keys, vice president, international programs, described contingency planning in anticipation of a possible war with Iraq as well as the IRC's response to the current humanitarian crisis in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia. Robert Carey, vice president, resettlement, discussed the slowdown in U.S. refugee admissions since September 11, noting that 23,000 refugees already approved for admission have been languishing in refugee camps and other temporary-and sometimes dangerous-settings.

Following remarks, a brief Q&A session was held with the featured speakers as well as IRC program staff.